Expressionist Oil Painting, "Akuaba Dolls Playing the Drum"

Three Akuaba dolls stand as emblems of Ashanti beliefs and traditions. According to legend, a woman named Akua (because she was born on a Wednesday) had been unable to conceive. An elder told her to make a doll and care for it as she would a child. Soon after she conceived and gave birth to a healthy child or ba. Since then, the doll has been regarded as a fertility doll, which the Ashanti refer to as Akuaba, and many women who once were barren have now conceived. The images play the famous talking drums of Ghana in this portrait by Kofi Baiden.